Box Office: 'MEGAMIND' wins record-setting holiday kickoff weekend

By
Michael Cavna

UPDATE: Megamind became the biggest blue character to hit the screen since the Na'vi, pacing a record-setting weekend.

DreamWorks Animation's "Megamind" won the weekend by grossing $47.7-million at the domestic box office -- making it DWA's third film this year to debut at more than $40-million, after "Shrek Forever After" and "How to Train Your Dragon."

"Megamind's" gross benefitted from being able to charge 3-D ticket prices; about two-thirds of the Paramount-distributed film's nearly 4,000 screens showed the film in 3-D..

The weekend's other top debuts also performed close to expectations: "Due Date" ($33.5-million) was second and "For Colored Girls" ($20.1-million) was third, according to studio estimates; final numbers are expected Monday.

Hollywood kicked off the holiday box-office season with a total domestic box-office gross of $157-million. If the estimates hold, this weekend will beat the record for a November-kickoff weekend: $153-million, set in 2003.

Because "Megamind" had already grossed $7.6-million in limited release overseas, the animated, heavy-on-Superman-references film has now made more than $20-million total. Box-office observers expect "Megamind" to gross roughly $45-million domestically by weekend's end.

DWA's "Dragon," which made $12.1-million on its opening Friday, grossed $43.7-million in its debut weekend (considered a disappointing tally at the time), but went on to gross $218-million domestically and $493-million total -- enough to warrant plans for a sequel.

At least commercially, Dreamworks is having a banner year in animation: Its "Shrek Forever After" (distributed by Paramount) made $238-million domestically and $737-million globally.

"Megamind" features the voices of Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill -- as well as ever-busy Tina Fey, who will be in Washington on Tuesday to receive the Kennedy Center's Twain Prize for American humor.

Meanwhile, the yellow minions of "Despicable Me" continue to rule the world. The Universal film made $21.8-million overseas and has now grossed $248-million domestically and $480-million total.